Biography
Who is Nelly Karim?
Early life and education
Nelly Karim was born in Alexandria, Egypt. Her father was from Zagazig and her mother came from Leningrad in the Soviet Union. She spent much of her childhood in Russia and visited Alexandria during summer breaks. She returned to Egypt permanently in 1991 after her father died.
She began dancing as a child in the Soviet Union. She attended a professional dance school and performed at the Odessa Opera House. In Egypt, she studied at the Cairo Ballet Institute and joined the Cairo Opera Ballet Company. Nelly won the Cairo Ballet Competition in less than one year. She became a prima ballerina at the Cairo Opera by 2000.
Start of acting career
Nelly started appearing on the television show Fawazeer Ramadan in 2000. Faten Hamama saw her there and cast her as her daughter in the series Wageh El Amar. This project won the Best Series award at the 2001 Egyptian Radio and Television Festival.
Nelly Karim made her film debut in Youth on Air in 2002 alongside Hanan Turk. Director Youssef Chahine cast her as Rita Hayworth in the 2004 movie Alexandria... New York. This film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. She also played a ballerina in You're My Life and won Best Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival. In the same year, she starred in the musical drama Your Love's Fire with Moustafa Amar.
Television and film work
In 2009, Nelly Karim played a religious nurse in the film One-Zero. This movie featured an all-female crew of director, writer, editor, and cinematographer. She received a Special Award for this role at the 2010 Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema. She then starred in the 2010 film Cairo 678, which addressed sexual harassment and was shown in over 60 countries.
She played the lead in the 2013 series A Girl Named Zaat. This story followed a woman from 1952 until the 2011 uprising. Nelly also starred in the 2014 series Women's Prison, which also used an all-female crew. Other roles include a drug addict in Under Control in 2015 and a woman in Free Fall in 2016. For the latter, she spent two months in a mental asylum to prepare.
Recent projects and awards
Nelly served as a jury member for the Horizons section at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. She appeared in the film Clash, which was Egypt's submission for the 89th Academy Awards. By 2019, she had acted in 17 films and 9 television series.
She starred in the 2020 series Meet Wesh with Asser Yassin. In 2024, she appeared in the comedy Rose and Layla with Yousra. Recent works include the 2025 murder mystery series My Sisters and the drama Happy Birthday. She also acted in the film Stories, which won the Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival. She filmed the romantic comedy Wedding Party in 2025 for a 2026 release.
Family and personal details
Nelly has an older brother named Ashraf who works as a doctor in the United States. She had two sons from her first marriage. In 2004, she married Hani Abuelnaga. They had two daughters named Celia and Talia before they divorced in 2015.
She married squash player Hisham Mohd Ashour in August 2021. This marriage ended in divorce in 2024. Nelly stands 164 centimeters tall.
Birthday and age
Nelly Karim was born on December 18, 1974, which makes Nelly 51 years old today. That birthday falls under the Sagittarius sign. Nelly shares the date with 56 other famous people.
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